a script in which fact or fiction is translated into a presentation suitable for filming – all scripts are adaptions of stories

scene/shot immediately following a dramatic scene where the character and/or viewer “digest” emotionally the impact of the dramatic scene

any and all details of appearance and behavior devised by a scriptwriter to define a given story person as an individual

the point in a screenplay at which the conflict between desire and danger reaches its ultimate peak; in other words: the highest and turning point

the interplay between forces seeking to attain mutually incompatible goals

the tying up of a film’s loose ends following the climax and resolution: here questions are answered, lingering tensions released, an ending given an emotionally satisfying tone …

the tendency of viewers to share the experiences of characters as when they tense at some threat jeopardizing a person in a picture …

to make clear any element important to understanding and appreciation and that element’s relationship to other elements in the film

introduction of information necessary for understanding a film story: who, when, where, under what circumstances

a script which details the action and dialogue of a film, but by and large does NOT include shooting instructions or camera angles or break down the action shot by shot; it is written in scenes, each of them having a headline: EXTERIOR (or INTERIOR) PLACE, DAY (or NIGHT)

a film’s climactic confrontation, the elements for which have been planted, a scene the viewers wait for

planting is an apparently offhand establishment of an idea, character, property, costume, set, etc. to be used more significantly later in the film; a pay off makes significant use of something previously planted, added to the participation of the viewer and allows poetic metaphors to be expressed; if plants don’t get paid off the audience will be frustrated and disappointed

a situation so offsetting and emotionally disturbing for the main character that he is motivated to take action and change the situation; established predicament opens the main tension; no predicament – no drama

provokes the awakening of something in the unconscious, the vision or convictions of the writer; simply connected to the open-ended question: “What would happen if…?”; it is either part of the film action or it happens before the storytelling opens the drama

a scene leading to a dramatic scene (collision, confrontation, revelation, culmination, twist, etc.) preparing the viewer by the use of atmosphere either directly or by contraction

a scene in which a character finds out what was previously a mistery – and, as a rule, the viewer has discovered before

the most important unit of a film which allows to tell the story dramatically; frequently consisting of more than one shot

a unit of action and conflict consisting of subsequent scenes and united by an objective that is or isn’t reached at its end; usually a sequence is centered around one big event (arrival, wedding, moving out, etc.)

the basic unit of a film, usually part of a scene

any action which pushes the protagonist a step forward to reach the overall goal during his/her journey; to identify steps one need to know the protagonist and the overall goal which he/she will achieve or fail to achieve at the end

a character involved in the main action by pursuing his own objective in a substory

a story within-a-story, generally involving subordinate characters and developed in terms of action parallel to that of the main action thematically related to it (variation, counterpoint, etc.)

a brief outline of a proposed film’s content

simply spoken, it is the principal subject, main aim why a story is being told; it becomes the resulting effect of the finished work and it gives the whole its unity; it is the final effect, the resulting impact that the audience should feel when the picture is over; and it influences more than any other element the positive or negative word-of-mouth recommendation

the bridge from one dramatic scene to another or from one sequence to another

a semi-dramatized, present-tense narrative, preliminary structuring of a script with inevitable dialogue in reported speech: a text which details the complete action, no shooting instructions at all

an unexpected, yet believable change in the direction of action, caused either by the change of mind of a character or by an intrusion of new circumstances in the scene